TROY, N.Y. – Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) student-athletes Alex Penny, Grace Tilton and Mike Hermann have been recognized by the Liberty League with weekly awards. Penny was named the Defensive Performer of the Week in men's soccer, while Tilton and Hermann earned Rookie of the Week in women's cross country and football, respectively.

Penny, a junior netminder out of Northport, N.Y., backstopped the seventh-ranked Engineers to a 1-0-1 record last week, stopping nine shots while allowing just one goal in over 200:00 minutes of action. In a 0-0 draw with Clarkson, he was forced to make just two saves to earn his eighth shutout of the season. Alex then stopped seven shots, including four in the second half, in a 2-1 win at St. Lawrence.

A former standout at Northport High School, Penny has now garnered Defensive Performer of the Week five times this season. As a starter in 13 games, he is 10-1-2 with a Liberty League-leading eight shutouts. He has allowed just five goals in 1210:55 minutes with a 0.37 goals against average and a .904 save percentage.

A freshman from Concord, N.H., Tilton was named to the All-State First Team after posting sixth overall and second among participating freshmen at the NYSCTC Championships. She posted a time of 19:05.85 in the 5k race (97 runners) to help lead RPI to second overall among the ten-team field.

The former Concord High School standout has had a solid start to her freshman campaign; posting top-ten finishes in four of the five races she has competed in. In addition to her success at the state meet, she also posted fourth overall and first among conference rookies at the Liberty League Championship, garnering All-Conference First Team honors. This is the second weekly award of the season for Tilton, who was also named Performer of the Week on September 28.

Hermann, a quarterback from Hardeeville, S.C., completed 18 of 33 passes for 142 yards in Rensselaer's 10-7 Liberty League victory over St. Lawrence. He also ran 11 times for 23 yards and a touchdown. His touchdown run was a 16-yard effort to push RPI ahead for good in the third quarter.

This is the fourth weekly honor for the former Avon Old Farms standout, who has completed 69 of 131 passes for 938 yards in six games. He has seven touchdown throws and six interceptions. Additionally, he has rushed for 270 yards and a team-best six touchdowns.

Football (4-2; 2-2 Liberty League) is back in action on Saturday at Union for the Dutchman Shoes game (1pm). Saturday's game will have live stats at http://livestats.internetconsult.com/union/football/ and can also be seen live at http://www.unionathletics.com/showcase/#liveevents. The game will be broadcast on Time Warner Channel 3 and on the radio at 91.5 FM, WRPI or log on to www.wrpi.org and click on sports.

The cross country teams are back on course on Saturday when they host the Saratoga Invitational at Saratoga State Park. The women's race begins at 11am, while the men's race is at 11:45am. The men's soccer team (11-1-2; 4-1-1 Liberty League) returns to the pitch on Wednesday at non-league foe SUNY New Paltz (3pm), before closing out the regular season at Vassar on Saturday (2pm).